trachoma

Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

n. A contagious disease of the conjunctiva and cornea, caused by the gram-negative bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis and characterized by inflammation, hypertrophy, and formation of granules of adenoid tissue. It is a major cause of blindness in Asia and Africa.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

n. An infectious disease of the eyelid caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

n. a contagious granular conjunctivitis caused by the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis. It is a chronic inflammation of the conjunctiva.

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

n. In surgery, a granular condition of the conjunctiva of the eyelids, frequently accompanied with haziness and vascularity of the cornea; granular lids: a serious disease, often occurring after purulent ophthalmia.

n. a chronic contagious viral disease marked by inflammation of the conjunctiva and cornea of the eye and the formation of scar tissue

Etymologies

New Latin trāchōma, from Greek trākhōma, from trākhus, rough.

(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

The resident nurse, a buxom elderly woman, said they had no real sickness; in summer, the children got a bit of conjunctivitis and diarrhea; oh, no, trachoma is very rare, and besides, we cure it; there's some chicken pox now.

Upon their arrival at New York, it appeared that the children had contracted a disease of the eyelids, which the doctors of the Immigration Bureau declared to be trachoma, which is contagious, and in adults incurable.

Funding to fight diseases including parasites that cause disfiguring elephantiasis, hookworms and a blinding eye infection called trachoma, would more than double under the 2011 budget proposal, to $155 million from $65 million.

He pointed to another doctor, standing close to the last, who examined the eyes quickly and deftly (principally for a chronic and contagious disease called "trachoma"), scrupulously cleansing fingers and instrument between each immigrant.

Local, national and regional political will and leadership is also needed if we, together, are to meet the target of eliminating lymphatic filariasis, river blindness and trachoma, from the region by 2015.

Despite the fact that Guatemala is a relatively small country with a population of only 12 million people, it has the third largest number of some intestinal worm and blinding trachoma infections in the Western Hemisphere, behind only Brazil and Mexico.

"My grandfather came here legally through Ellis Island" is an oft-seen phrase in opinion pieces written by those who are unaware that coming here legally at the time was mostly a matter of not being among the two percent deported for health issues such as trachoma and tuberculosis.